Machine for slicing vegetables



Oct. 12, 1943. w, LUNDQUIST 2,331,406

MACHINE- FOR sucme VEGETABLES Filed July 14, 1941 s Sheets-Sheet 1 Oct.12, 1943. R. w. LUNDQUIST I 2,331,406

MACHINE FOE SLIDING VEGETABLES Filed July 14, 1941 3 Shets-Sheet 2 Oct.12, 1943. R, w, LUNDQUIST 2,331,406

' MACHINE FOR SLICING VEGETABLES Filed July 14, 1941 3 Sheets-Sheet 3Patented Oct. 12, 1943 MACHINE FOR SLICING VEGETABLES Roy W. Lundquist,Chicago, 111., assignor to Reid, Murdoch & 00., Chicago, III.,' acorporation of Illinois Application July 14, 1941, Serial No. 402,267

4 Claims.

The invention relates to vegetable slicing machines.

One object of the invention is to provide a vegetable slicing machine ofthe drum type in which the knife-blades are arranged in circumferentialsuccession for continuously cutting slices from the vegetables.

Another object of the invention is to provide a vegetable slicingmachine of this type in which a vegetable, such as a cucumber, will beautomatically fed to the knives by their action in cutting the slicestherefrom.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved slicingmachine of the drum type for cutting corrugated slices from thevegetables.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a machine of thistype of high capacity for use in commercial cutting of vegetables, whichis efficient in operation and is adapted to cleanly cut slices ofuniform thickness.

Other objects of the invention will appear from the detaileddescription.

The invention consists in the several novel features which arehereinafter set forth and are more particularly defined by claims at theconclusion hereof.

In the drawings: Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a machine embodying theinvention. Fig. 2 is a section taken on line 2-2 of Fig. 3. Fig. 3 is atransverse section through the drum and its casing. Fig. 4 is a sectiontaken on line 4-4 of Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a perspective of a knife-bladeillustrating its inner peripheral surface. Fig. 6 is a perspective ofthe abutment-plate and a portion of the feed-chute. Fig. 7 is a view onan enlarged scale illustrating the action of the blades as the cut ofone slice is being completed and the cutting of the succeeding slice hasbeen initiated. Fig. 8 is a section similar to Fig. 7 illustrating aknife-blade while cutting at the middle of a slice. Fig. 9 is aperspective illustrating the manner of securing the knife-blades to therotatable head and the ring at the open secured. The drum also comprisesa ring. b?

which forms the open side of the drum through which the slices aredischarged. Ring b comprises a flange b and is supported from the head bby the knife-blades, as hereinafter described. The drum is continuouslydriven by mechanism comprising an electric motor 41 which is mounted ona frame a; a shaft 11 driven by the motor; a pulley d fixed to shaft d;a belt (1 driven by pulley d and a belt-pulley d fixed to the drumshaftI5 and driven by belt 11 In practice, the drum may be driven at a highspeed, for example, 300 R. P. lvL, so the vegetable will be sliced at ahigh rate of speed. A casing e is fixedly supported by the frame a inany suitable manner and forms a housing around the drum.

The peripheral portion of the drum is formed by a series of knife-bladesc which are arranged in continuous circumferential succession forcontinuously cutting slices from the vegetables. Each knife-blade 0extends between and connects the head b and the ring 12 Each knife-bladehas a cutting edge 0 extending across its leading end; an outer curvedperipheral face 0 an inner curved peripheral face; and a trailing end 0The trailing end 0 of each blade is substantially continuouscircumferentially or radially aligned with the leading edge of thesucceeding blade for continuous cutting action by the knives and tocontinuously support the end of the vegetable during the rotation of thedrum. The outer peripheral face 0 of each blade is curved between itscutting edge 0 and its trailing end 0 on a radius which is eccentric toand sub-. stantially equal to the radius of the path of rotation of thecutting edge 0' so that the end of a vegetable will be supported acrossits entire face during the cutting of the slice and so that its trailingend will be spaced radially from the cutting edge of the'succeedingblade for the discharge of the slice after completion of the cuts. Theportion 0 of the inner peripheral face of each blade is concavely curvedfrom the cutting edge on a radius substantially equal to the radius ofthe path of rotation of the cutting edge e on an arc of greatereccentricity than the outer peripheral face 0 to bend the slice inwardlyduring each cut and to draw the face of the unsliced portion of thevegetable against the outer peripheral face. By forming the outer face 0on an arc of equal radius of the circular path of the cuttingedges andeccentric thereto and forming the inner peripheral face-portion c asdescribed, the vegetable will be continuously held against outer facecwithout substantially longitudinal compression and so that the vegetablewill not be vibrated.

Vegetables, such as cucumbers, are guided through the casing e to theperiphery of the drum by a chute 1 which is inclined so successivevegetables will slide by gravity to the periphery of the drum.

The inner peripheries of flange b on head b and fiange b on ring D arecylindrical. The blades are formed with integral projecting portions [2having arcuate seats [2 which conform to the inner peripheries offlanges b D The ends of the blades 0 fit between the inner faces of headI) and ring b*. Each blade is secured by screws IE to flanges b and 11The ring 19 at the outer side of the drum is supported entirely by theknife-blades. The portions I2 of the blade 0 abut circumferentially sothat the blades form the entire peripheral portion of the drum.Longitudinally extending supports or connecting members between theknives are eliminated for continuous cutting of the slices by thesuccessive blades.

A stationary plate g is fixedly supported adjacent the circular path ofthe cutting edges 0' and functions as an abutment for supporting thevegetable against transverse movement while the slices are beingsevered. Plate 9 is disposed between the chute ,f and the outerperiphery of the drum. In the operation of the machine for slicing ofthe vegetables, the abutment-plate is subjected to wear and must bemaintained in correct predetermined relation to the cutting edges of theknife-blades to prevent ragged edges on the slices. For this purpose'theplate g is preferably formed of plastic material, such as Bakelite,which is non-corrosive, and is removably secured by screws 9' to asupport in The inner end of chute f is also fixed to the support h. Thecasing e is provided with a panel 6' which closes an opening in thehousing adjacent the chute f for access to the drum adjacent its cuttingzone. The panel 6' and support h are fixedly secured to a shaft h whichis pivotally supported by the suporting frame a so that the chute f,support 71., and plate 9 may be swung away from the drum so the platewill be accessible from the outside of the casing when its replacementis necessary. Panel e at its upper end is removably secured by screws 6to the housing e,

A deflector I8 is fixedly supported from the outer side of the housing 6for directing the slices through an opening I9 in the outer side of thedrum and ring I) to a discharge chute which directs the slicesdownwardly, usually onto a suitable conveyor or receptacle (not shown).

The blades illustrated are adapted for cutting corrugated slices. Forthis purpose the outer peripheral faces c are formed with alternatingribs 0 and grooves c which extend circumferentially from endto end ofeach blade. The portion 0 of the inner periphery c of each blade isribbed, as at 0 and grooved, as at 0 The ribbed and grooved inner andouter peripheral faces c 0 merge to form the corrugated cutting edge 0.In order to support the vegetablec0nformably to the cutting path of thecorrugated cutting edge, the inner face of abutment-plate g is providedwith alternate ribs g 'and grooves g, which conform to the corrugatedcutting edge 0' to support a vegetable, such as a cucumber, to thecutting line and assist in preventing ragged or irregular edges on theslices.

In operation, the drum a will be continuously rotated at a high speed,for example 300 R. P. M. When a vegetable, such as a cucumber, isadvanced in chute 1, its leading end will rest against the outerperipheral face 0 of a knife-blade. As the cutting edge 0' of the firstblade in its rotation reaches the vegetable, it will commence to cut aslice, as indicated at 22 in Fig. '7, As the cut is continued the innerperipheral curved face-portion 0 will, through its pull on the uncutportion, draw the end of the vegetable against the outer peripheral face6 of the blade and this will continue until the slice has beencompletely severed. The curvature of the outer peripheral face c of theknife permits the vegetable to pass across the plane of rotation of thecutting edges of the knives during the cutting of each slice, Inpractice, it has been found that when the radius of the curve is equaland eccentric to the radius of the plane of rotation of the cutting edgeand the inner peripheral portion 0 is of the same radius and of greatereccentricity, the vegetable will be positively fed by the action of theknife-blades themselves so the face on the vegetable left by the lastslice will be snugly held against the outer periphery c of the bladeuntil the succeeding blade enters the vegetable, without producing anychattering and without excessive pressure, which is undesirable. Thisresults in automatically and positively feeding the vegetable againstthe outer peripheries of the knives. The knife-blades are arranged insubstantially continuous circumferential succession or so that thetrailing end of one knife-blade is radially aligned with the cuttingedge of the succeeding blade for producing substantially continuouscutting by the blades. The blades are circumferentially dimensionedbetween their leading and trailing ends so that before one slice hasbeen completely severed and while the vegetable is under the influenceof the pulling action of one inner peripheral face the succeeding knifewill commence to cut a slice, as illustrated in Fig. 7. This effects acontinuous cutting action by the annular series of knives and theautomatic and positive feeding of the vegetable for high speed operationfor the commercial roduction of sliced vegetables. The slices aredischarged. between the trailing ends of one knife-blade and the cuttingedge of the succeeding knife-blade and are forcibly projected into thedeflector i8 from which they are rapidly discharged through the chute.

The invention exemplifies a vegetable slicing machine in which theslices are cut in continuous succession from a vegetable; in which thevegetable is automatically pulled against the outer peripheral faces ofthe knives to automatically and positively feed the vegetables to thecutting, edges of the drum without chattering or excessive compressionof the vegetable; in which the-knifeblades are formed in circumferentialcontinuous succession and the outer peripheral faces of the knivesterminate radially in alignment with the cutting edge of the succeedingknife; in which the entire periphery of the drum is composed ofknife-blades and the ring at the outer side of the drum is supportedentirely from the head at the other side; in which provision is made forreplacement of the stationary abutment-plate; and in which theabutment-plate and knives are adapted for cutting corrugated slices.

The invention is not to be understood as restricted tothe details setforth, since these maybe modified within the scope of the appendedclaims, without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters drum, an abutment between the chute and the V drum,over which the vegetables are slidable, having a corrugated coactingcutting edge meeting and conforming to the corrugated knife-edges, theabutment being adapted to support the vegetable to the corrugatedcutting line until the slices have been completely severed, andmechanism for rotating the drum.

2. In a machine for slicing cucumbers and the like, the combination of arotatable drum, a chute adapted for slidably and controllably guidingvegetables individually to the drum, 2. cir-' I cumferential series ofblades on the drum having corrugated knife edges extending across their7 leading ends, corrugated circumferentially curved outer peripheralfaces sloping inwardly from the knife edges to the trailing ends, andinner curved corrugated peripheral faces adapted to flex the slicesinwardly from the cutting edge and to draw the end-face of the vegetableat the out against the drum, an abutment between the chute and the drum,having an arcuate edge over which the vegetables are slidable and bywhich they are confined against transverse movement relatively to theblades, and a corrugated face meeting and conforming to the corrugatedknife edges, the edge of the abutment being adapted to support thevegetable .to the corrugated cutting line until the slices have beencompletely severed, and mechanism for rotating the drum.

3. In a machine for slicing cucumbers and the like, the combination of arotatable drum, a chute adapted for slidably and controllably guidingvegetables individually to the drum, a circumferential series of bladeson the drum havin corrugated knife edges extending across their leading5 ends, corrugated circumferentially curved outer peripheral facessloping inwardly from the knife edges to the trailing ends and innercurved corrugated peripheral faces adapted to flex the slices inwardlyfrom the cutting edge and to draw the end-face of the vegetable at theout against the periphery of the drum, the bladesbeing of such lengththat they Willstart one out before the preceding out has been completed,an abutment between the chute and the drum, an arcuate coacting cuttingedge over which the vegetables are slidable and by which they areconfined against transverse movement relatively to the blades, and acorrugated face extending peripherally from the arcuate edge andconforming to the corrugated knife edges, the coacting edge beingadaptedv to support the vegetable to th corrugated cutting line untilthe slices have been completely severed, and mechanism for rotating thedrum.

4. Ina machine for slicing cucumbers and the like, the combination of arotatable drum, a chute adapted for slidably and controllably guidingvegetables individually to the drum,'a circumferential series of bladeson the drum having corrugatedknife edges extending across their leading0 ends, corrugated circumferentially curvedouter peripheral facessloping inwardlyfrom the knife edges to the trailing ends and innercurved corrugated peripheral faces adapted to flex the slices inwardlyfrom the cutting edge andto draw the end-face of the Vegetable at theout against the.

ii) to support the vegetable to the cutting line until the slices havebeen completely severed, and v mechanism for rotating the drum.

ROY W. LUNDQUIST.

